The Great Equestrian War
by King Jean-Luc
Summary: We all know Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon because of her jealousy toward her sister, but what happened to cause that? A great event that was removed from the Equestrian history books. A story of war, theft, power, loyalty, and the last of the Alicorns.
1. A Princess Betrayed

**Just to clear things up, this takes place BEFORE Luna turned into Nightmare Moon. She is at her fully grown size here, which is the same size as Celestia. Also, this story started out as an experement, it took a while for me to actually get into writing it. The first couple of chapters are honestly the worst, but the story picks up at Chapter 4 (The Council Meeting). Understand I took creative lisence in a lot of things, and to please respect my ideas. Lastly, I have a personal dislike for Celestia, so the chapter concerning her are short and boring. Sorry about that.**

The Great Equestrian War

Chapter 1: A Princess Betrayed

Luna, Goddess of the Night, flew over the dark plains of the kingdom of Equestria. Her destination this night was a small town located directly in the center of the kingdom. It was a small town by the name of Hoofer, and she had been unaware of its existence until earlier that day, when she had received an urgent letter from her best friend, a noble by the name of Silver Moon. Silver Moon had urged in the letter to meet him in Hoofer as soon as possible, for he had some urgent news and it would be a good place for two elites of the kingdom to meet in private. As she remembered this line of the letter, Luna was puzzled, surely no matter where they would choose to meet, the people would recognize one of the kingdom's wisest nobles and the Princess of the Night?

Luna landed in Hoofer, and was shocked by it's appearance. Even the smallest town in Equestria was clean and tidy to some extent, her sister Celestia made sure of it. Hoofer was not only small, it was downright filthy. The buildings were broken down, and most of the windows had been broken. The streets were covered in vegetation, and not a single light showed in the darkness of the beautiful night, save from one building Luna presumed to be the inn. She prepared herself for anything that might possibly happen, and walk through the doors of the inn.

She was immediately met with silence as all the patrons turned their heads at her.

"Hail citizens! I am from-"

"We know who you are, royal princess." She had been interrupted by a barmaid who said those last two words with scorn. "Princess Luna. I'm telling you right now you'll find no love here, most everyone in this town wants you and your sister dead."

"Why would they want that? I'm just here to meet with a friend, can I have a drink?"

Reluctantly, the barmaid nodded. "Your coin's good, so I don't see why we can't feed you before you leave. We can't afford any special tables, and even if we did have anything fancy, we wouldn't give it to the likes of you!"

Luna headed over to an empty table and sat down, a bit awkwardly due to her being larger than the regular ponies it was used to sitting. She ordered some food and some cider, but didn't get her hopes up that it was anything good, for the table was just as filthy as the rest of the town and there was every indication that the glasses would be the same. When it came, she saw that the plate and glass were clean, and dug in. To her utter astonishment, it was delicious, some of the best food she had ever tasted. She thought she would have to tell Celestia, but then, they never really did much together anymore, and Celestia would probably have a fit the second she landed in town.

Luna got out her coin purse to pay for the meal, but was stopped. "You pay when you leave honey. In case you want to spend the night, or eat more. That's the way we've always run it."

"Thank you for the meal. I assure you, whatever problems the crown has caused for you fine people, I have not been the cause, nor even aware of your struggles. Now, I came here to meet a friend, a noble. His name is Silver Moon."

"We got a Silver Moon, but he isn't anywhere near noble. He comes here every now and again to help with the town, and listens to us complain about the crown. If he's noble, he's really good at insulting himself. First room on the right."

Luna smiled, "Yeah, he tends to do things like that a lot. I'll meet with him and leave; I can see it is not wise for me to stay here."

Luna walked over to the room the barmaid had mentioned, and pushed open the door. She walked through, with some difficulty, seeing as both her and Celestia were twice the size of a normal earth pony, and saw a gray male unicorn looking out the window on the opposite end of the room.

"So you're a unicorn today, Silver Moon?"

The unicorn turned slightly, just enough to see Luna standing there. "I am traveling in disguise, as I expected you would. After all, when I said this was a good place to meet in private, I didn't expect to barge in yelling your name and status."

Luna was angered this, "Look, I did not-" Then she cut off as she noticed his smile. "That wasn't funny Silver. I hate talking to you when your half my height, can you please turn back?"

"Fine. The need for secrecy is over anyway." Silver Moon's horn glowed dark blue, and suddenly he was enveloped in white light. His body grew to twice the size it was; his horn grew sharper and more elegant. He spread out wings that had grown as well, and when the light faded, his coat had turned blue. Gone was the gray unicorn that had been there a few moments before, and in its place was Silver Moon, last of the Alicorns and a senior noble in Celestia's royal court. "Can we talk now? Or do you wish to shed your nonexistent disguise?"

"You know I can't change my appearance like that, and how else do you expect me to get around? How did you learn that spell anyway?"

"Well, as you know, I'm one of three Alicorns in the world. You and Celestia are the other two and you don't count because you are goddesses. I feel the need to learn as much Alicorn magic as possible seeing as I'm the last of my race. I've had plenty of time to do it, seeing as we don't age past adulthood. Anyway, I didn't come here to explain my heritage to you again; I have news from the Court of Canterlot."

"Before you tell me, why pick here as a meeting place? I get that it's discreet, but everyone hate people like us."

"Yeah, I'm usually in disguise while I'm here, so it is very easy for me to forget these people hate nobility. I didn't remember that until I was already halfway here. Anyway, to answer your question, I pick this place for three reasons. The food, the shape of the town, and the location. This town is in the exact center of Equestria, so therefore it was the same distance for me to come from Canterlot, where the court was in session, as it was for you to come from Everfree, where the Palace of the Pony Sisters stands. Now may I start?"

Luna frowned. He was really anxious to give her this news, and that means it could only be something bad. Now she really wanted to hear what he had to say. "Yes, tell me." She said simply.

"The best way to put this is to narrate the court proceedings. I must first ask, do you know who Soulrunner is?"

Luna pondered this. "That new noble? The one who replaced Sonata?"

"That's the one. She was one of the most outspoken members of the council, and it was a great tragedy that she suddenly died a few months ago. Soulrunner was her replacement, and today was his first meeting as a member of the council. Anyway, the court gathers and we all stand and wait for Princess Celestia to enter the room, as always. I noticed that Soulrunner had already taken his seat, which was highly insulting to Celestia, who is supposed to be the first seated. I dismissed this as ignorance until I saw him snort when Celestia _did_ enter the room. As we sat, Soulrunner began things immediately. 'I would like to start the meeting,' he said, 'with three matters that must be addressed. First, I would ask that our Royal Highness Celestia please confiscate the Elements of Harmony from Silver Moon'"

"What?" Luna gasped. She couldn't believe it, Silver Moon had been the keeper of the Elements for as long as she had known him.

"I know. Soulrunner may think he has a silver tongue, but I quickly responded as necessary. 'Lord Soulrunner,' I began, adding formality to remind him that this was a place of civility, 'I believe I understand your concerns for my keeping the Elements, but I assure you, you can rest easy. I have kept the Elements since long before I joined this court, and no harm has come to them. In fact, I've hid them so well not a soul knew of them until Discord was defeated.'

"Soulrunner then made his next move. 'Yes, and that's exactly what I mean. We need the Elements readily available, not shut away with someone who can't use them!'

"'Lord Soulrunner, I mean no disrespect, but what makes you think I can't use them? I've held on to them since their creation, and I know all their secrets, I gave them to the sisters to destroy Discord because I felt no need for the fame his defeat would bring me, and I wanted to help the kingdom of Equestria. Besides, I'm the only one who knows where all six currently are. I believe this matter is closed.'

"Naturally, he didn't respond well to being told off like that. He glared at me for the longest time, and then said his next matter rather through clenched teeth. 'My next request is one of a simpler manner. I would ask our lady Celestia if the Royal Court can convene in my part of the kingdom next month? I will have returned from a trip, and would not be able to make it to Canterlot.' Celestia agreed, after all, Canterlot is still being built. The court rooms are the only part of the palace, and the city has not been developed very much. So the Court is very likely to move about from place to place."

He stopped. Luna waited eagerly to hear what Soulrunner said next, but Silver just stared at his hooves. Finally, she burst and said, "Well? What was Soulrunner's third point?"

At this, Silver mumbled something, and Luna didn't catch up on it. He said it again, this time louder, and she managed to here one word.

"You..."

"Me? Soulrunner's last point was me? What exactly did he say?"

"This is the part I need to tell you about before you hear from anyone else, but now I cannot bring myself to say it. Soulrunner wanted you off the throne."

Luna recoiled slightly. Was she really that bad of a princess that a noble wanted her off the throne?

"Before you think anything, know that you are both extremely powerful, and wonderfully wise. Celestia may not have been treating you equally lately, but that doesn't mean you are less fit for the throne than her. Soulrunner claimed that you never do much in terms of ruling, and you are never present at the court meetings. He said it would be safer to have a single ruler monarchy, and Celestia was a better match in his eyes. He requested that Celestia strip you of your title as princess and live as a minor noble." His voice wavered at this point. "I'm sorry, but only one horse present defended you."

"That was you, wasn't it?"

"Yes. I am sad to say that I was the only one who defended you. Even Celestia didn't object. In fact, before I started protesting, she had actually agreed to the notion. I tried to defend you, and I used all valid points, but one factor kept me from saving your title, and Soulrunner pointed it out. I spend a lot of time with you, and Soulrunner convinced the court that my feelings for you as a friend clouded my thoughts for you as a ruler. I was then asked by Celestia to leave the court early, and return when the next meeting came, in a month. The notion passed Luna. Celestia is now overlord of Equestria, and I was shunned by her."

"That's ridiculous! Not only would she turn against her own sister, but she would take the most junior council member's word over yours? You've been on that court longer than some of those nobles have been alive! How could Celestia betray me like that?"

"I'm sorry, if I had just made a better case, and not let my emotions affect my mouth..."

"Silver, whatever you think, this is not your fault. Celestia has been striping my authority away anyway. The 7 PM curfew in effect for all ponies? The denied access to Canterlot? For those two reasons alone I can't effectively rule. If anyone's to blame its Soulrunner and Celestia."

"Luna, I understand your anger, but it's getting late, even for you. I'll give you the details in the morning, but you have had a long journey and have not had a chance to rest like I have. Sleep now and I will fill in all the grey area in the morning."

Luna then realized just how tired she was, for she had flown all throughout the day and into the night, pausing only to raise the moon. She laid down then, and immediately fell into a deep sleep. Her thoughts full of anger at her sister, and confusion as to what had brought about her betrayal.


	2. Tensions Rise

Chapter 2: Tensions Rise

Silver Moon did not sleep that night. His scholar mind was racing, constantly thinking of all the possibilities that could come from the events of yesterday. He was still reliving the events when he realized it was time for the sun to come up. Celestia could not raise the sun unless Luna lowered the moon. Silver Moon looked over at Luna, who was still sound asleep and showed no intention of waking up. Silver didn't want to disturb her, and he didn't need to. Silver smirked and thought to himself, _well, what Celestia doesn't know won't kill her now__,__ will it?_ Silver opened the window, stuck his head out of it, and called upon his magic reserves. Using the ancient spell the Alicorns had used before The Fall, he raised his horn and smoothly lowered the moon below the horizon, the sun coming up as he did so. Celestia would have no idea Luna didn't lower the moon, after all, he couldn't see Celestia raising the sun, could he?

As the sun rose and its light hit his hide, it changed. His dark blue hide changed to a light shade of silver, and his mane turned from light blue to white. It was due to this condition he had earned his name. His silver hide changed with the rise and fall of the moon. Silver turned as he heard a noise, only to relax as he found it was only Luna waking. She groggily opened her eyes and then quickly snapped awake as she realized how late it was.

"Did I miss moonset? Is the sun coming up?"

"Don't worry Luna," Silver laughed, "You slept through moonset, so I lowered the moon for you. The Palace tower is big, but not so big Celestia can see this inn from there."

"You lowered the moon? Oh... I forgot you could do that."

"It's the Alicorn magic. You are not used to seeing anyone other than you or Celestia do something like that. Being the last of your kind doesn't exactly help knowledge of the race. Anyway, it's getting late; we should leave before anyone in Everfree wonders where we've gone."

Luna nodded and Silver led the way downstairs. The tenants remaining from the previous night were not used to seeing him at his true height; so many shot nervous glanced at him and Luna, who was slightly smaller. Silver tossed the money he owed for the room on the counter on the way out and headed for the door. When he got there, he turned around to see Luna give her entire coin purse to the bartender.

"Keep the change," she was saying, "I know not what ails you people, or why you hate my beloved sister and I, but I hope this meager amount of gold shall help in your plight."

Silver had to suppress a laughing fit. Luna had an odd habit of talking in ancient Equestrian when she was nervous, and made it seem like she was unaccustomed to the culture of current times. When Luna rejoined him outside, they spread their wings and flew off to the southeast, to Everfree, and the Palace of the Pony Sisters. They flew over the land at incredible speeds, but Everfree was still very far away. Eventually Luna asked,

"Those people back there, the townspeople. Why do they hate the Empire so much? They mentioned you had been there before, so I assume you know."

Silver shifted his wings uneasily, and chose his words carefully before he replied. "Yes, I do know why they hate the Empire, and it is justified anger, but you may not enjoy hearing this. You see, Hoofer is in the middle of the kingdom, and the land there is not very fertile. Farming is scarce, and there just aren't enough resources to start a reliable trade. Why settle there then? Because of what was _inside_ the land. Up until about 50 years ago, Hoofer was a mining town. Its mines were rich in gold and precious gemstones designers use to make stylish outfits. It was nearly as rich as the city of Everfree, and you should know how rich they are, we live there. Anyway, life was good for the citizens of Hoofer... until the fall of Discord, about 50 years ago. After I bestowed the Elements of Harmony to you and Celestia to defeat Discord, things went downhill for everyone. Celestia has become obsessed with achieving complete Harmony within the kingdom, and that means taking away all possible means of creating strife. Celestia decreed that no one town should be significantly richer than another, as money can incite greed. She shut down and stripped the Hoofer mines of all their valuables, and left them to fend for themselves. Like I said, it's hard to get a living in that area, so the town quickly fell into poverty, and was forgotten."

Silver waited for Luna to acknowledge the information, and awaited her reaction. He didn't have to wait long.

"So it is my sister's need to bring peace and harmony that ruined these people's lives. I know she did not intend it that way, but why has she not done anything to help these people?"

"Because I think she has forgotten Hoofer exists. Celestia does the ruling by day and tackles each problem as it arises, she can't afford to think back or forward if she doesn't need to. It's not all that important to see a city fall from power, and by the time its economic crisis peaked, Celestia was dealing with rebuilding what Discord had left behind. I'm actually surprised you didn't realize what happened to Hoofer, you supported Celestia's decision."

Luna was silent for a time, and then she said she wanted to change the subject.

"Tell me about the Alicorns again." She requested.

Silver grinned to himself. No matter how dark a subject made him, he was always uplifted by the thoughts of his past and his people.

"Very well. About a thousand years ago, before you and Celestia came to power, there were five lands in this world. To the North were the pegasi, who were gifted by the creator gods with wings, which they used to control the weather and fly extreme distances at incredible speeds. The Pegasi are a very proud race, most arrogant to a degree, and run things in almost a military style. In the lands to the East there was a civilization of regular earth ponies, who were reliable and strong, they used physical means to accomplish everything, and invented the idea of using apples in various ways. They also discovered cake, and are the most likely to party after a hard day's work. To the West lay the unicorns, who had been gifted by the creator gods with the most powerful gift of all. Magic. They use magic to meet their various needs, and can use it to be an extremely powerful and dangerous weapon.

"All three of these races have lived and survived to this day, where we all live together, but history has all but forgotten the last race, the inhabitants to the South. In the Southern fields dwelled the Alicorns, a race proud and graceful. Some Alicorn scholars believed we were created by the creator gods in their image. Regardless, Alicorns were immensely powerful. Alicorns grew up to twice the size of someone from one of the other three races, and had the both the gift of magic, and the gift of flight. We also had a third, less well-known gift. Age. Once we reached our full height, our bodies stopped aging, allowing us to be young, strong and graceful forever. Our magic tended to be more advanced and powerful than that of the unicorns, for it was a collection of our greatest scholars who first found the spells to raise the sun and moon. The capital of their land was a grand city in the sky, named simply Utopia. It was massive, and the streets and buildings were lined with gold. Yes, Alicorns were very powerful, and they knew it. Why else would they be granted access to the Elements of Harmony? In time, all the races established settlements on the fifth land, the middle land, Equestria, but the Alicorns never made it there.

The reason there are no Alicorns today is because of one event time has dubbed, The Fall. Hundreds of years ago, Alicorns were numerous and arrogant, just as they had always been. However, one day, they incurred the wrath of a creator god. This creator god, the god of life and earth, had grown jealous of his brother's work, and was determined to wipe out every one of his creations and create bigger, better and more powerful things. He started with the Alicorns. The god came and leveled entire cities with his power, and when none stood but Utopia, he killed almost everyone. Then, suddenly, his brother came down, creator of the sky and cosmos, and stopped the slaughter. Using the power of the Elements of Harmony as well as his own power, the Lord of the Sky caused a solar eclipse and bestowed the Elements to six worthy Alicorns. Using the combined forces, the seven Alicorns trapped the angry creator god, and the sky god was able to take his power and seal it inside himself. He then turned to a lone Alicorn, and asked him to protect the Elements with his life. That Alicorn became the Keeper of the Elements, and they crisis was over. However, it was too late. Only eight Alicorns had survived, and over time, seven of them died out."

Silver had told this story to Luna before, but he had always omitted the part about the survivors and the Keeper. His exhaustion let it slip this time, and he realized his mistake to late.

"Only seven of them died?" She exclaimed, "That means that there is only one remaining Alicorn. You! You were there, and you were the one the sky god turned to! I knew you were older than me and my sister, but I had always thought you were born after your race died out."

"Yes, I was in Utopia when the angry god-like being came in and leveled everything. I was not the Alicorn the sky god turned to, but he died a few days after the god left so he doesn't count among the eight survivors. I took up the position of Keeper and have kept it since. Don't ask the question you are about to ask. If you must know, I am 849 this year. The Fall happened 700 years ago, you and Celestia came to power soon after, about 680 years ago. That's not a coincidence. It's also not a coincidence that you two are Alicorns. Maybe sometime I'll tell you about the creator gods, but it looks like we're here."

Sure enough, looming above Silver was the Palace of the Pony Sisters. It was an impressive addition to the city of Everfree, and he didn't quite understand why Celestia wanted to move the capitol from here, an already built and historic city, to Canterlot, which was still under construction. Silver turned to Luna as he prepared to enter, for he was worried of how she would react. Luna was always content to let her older sister take the reins and rule, but this time she had gone too far. She had tried to strip her own sister of her title. Luna's face revealed nothing, and Silver sensed that there was rising tension building up inside her. Cautiously, he walked up to the palace doors and announced them.


	3. The Council Meeting

Chapter 3: War at Peace

Celestia, Goddess of the Sun and Princess of Equestria, sat on her throne reading a disturbing message she had gotten earlier in the day. She had read the letter before, but she did not know what to do about the subject. Perhaps when her oldest and wisest consultant, Silver Moon returned, he would know what to do. For almost seven hundred years Silver had guided her hand and gave his opinion on matters. He never asked for anything, and he had never given her a bad piece of advice, which was why she felt so bad. She had ignored Silver Moon, and his opinions, in order to allow a new council member to speak. Eager in the moment, she had agreed to almost everything he said, ignoring Silver's protests and dismissing them for anger clouding his judgment. Now that she had time to think on this, she felt more than a little guilty. Silver Moon had never been angry in front of her, and emotions never clouded his thoughts. Now this letter had arrived, and she hoped she could still rely on him to give her the proper advice.

Just as she had thought this, the door to the throne room opened. She was not expecting anyone, so it must be someone of status for the guards to let them in. It was her sister, Luna, though she looked extremely angry about something. Celestia frowned even more when she realized that Luna was glaring right at her.

"Is something wrong Luna?" Celestia asked, cautious of any reaction she might spark.

"Yes sister, something is very wrong. Like the fact that you tried to strip me of my title of princess! How could you do that to me? We have always ruled side by side, and I have supported you at every turn, yet you betray me like this? You may be my older sister but that doesn't give you control over my life! You and I are equal in status, a council _you_ made should have no authority over the monarchy of this land, you said yourself they were to be your advisors. I-"

"I think you've made your point Luna." Said a voice from the door. Silver Moon had come in during Luna's rant. Now it was Celestia's turn to frown, and slightly hit herself for not seeing it earlier. Silver Moon had been Luna's best friend since they were both fillies, and confided everything in him. His wisdom and kindness had affected her even more than it had Celestia. He told her everything he thought would cause her harm, and he was late coming back from Canterlot. Her must have met her on his way back and told her what happened at the meeting.

Luna looked up to Silver Moon like a father figure. He had been fully grown when Celestia was just a filly, and it was for this respect that she stopped her rant when he asked. Silver turned to Celestia, and made it clear he wanted her to explain herself.

"Luna, as you know it is my responsibility to ensure peace and harmony throughout Equestria. I feel a duel monarchy is not ideal for a peaceful kingdom, and one of us might rival the other, and nothing will get done. I have more experience, and the people are more likely to listen to me than you. I'm sorry, but this how I believe it needs to be."

"Celestia," Silver Moon spoke, slow and methodical, like always when trying to get her to change her opinion, "I see your logic, but I must disagree. For one, both princesses have equal power, and cannot remove one another from power. Another thing is, if you have a single monarch, what happens if she falls victim to corruption? I know it happens; I've seen it done. Like it or not, you can't dethrone Luna unless she wants to step down."

There it was that perfect chain of reasoning that got into her mind and made her feel wrong. She understood the flaws in her logic, and realized she could not betray her sister like that, not if she wanted to maintain a loving relationship with her. Luna seemed to have calmed down, and was waiting for Celestia to speak.

"I am sorry my sister, I didn't mean to betray you that way. I see now it was wrong to assume you were not as fit to rule the kingdom as I am. I hope you can forgive me." Luna raised her head and walked away coldly, obviously not amused by her sister's apology. Celestia realized that would have to be dealt with later, for she had more pressing concerns.

"Silver, now that we are alone, I can confide in you. I apologize for my treatment of you at the meeting. I realized after I got back that you are my oldest and most trusted advisor, and it was wrong of me to kick you out. If you can forgive me, I hope you will listen to my concerns. Will you hear me?"

"Celestia, I hold no grudges. If you want my opinion I will give it. I have stood by you, and I am not going let one argument in seven hundred years stop me from advising you." Of course, they had more than a fair share of arguments in the past few months alone, but Celestia noted he deliberately ignored those to show he was not mad at her and was willing to listen to what he had to say.

"Well," she began, "before you came, I was reading a letter from a town on our northern border, with the pegasi. It detailed a very ominous situation. The armies of the pegasi are marching for the first time in several hundred years, and they are stationed on our border. The unicorn country to the west has allied with them, and it looks as though both nations threaten war with Equestria. My rule has been of peace, I don't know what to do in this situation. Equestria doesn't have a standing army, and if we are attacked we will fall."

"That is indeed a grim situation." He thought about this for a long while, until finally he said, "We can get an army, but I have a feeling there will be no need. Equestria hasn't seen war since its creation, and life here is peaceful, we have no other contact with the surrounding countries. We have done nothing to incite them. Chances are the two armies are on their way east to the land of the earth ponies, and are just stopping on our border to resupply. Soulrunner's lands are on that border aren't they?"

"Yes, and that's another thing I am worried about. If they mean to go to war with Equestria, I'd feel uneasy meeting so close to where they are currently stopped, and even if they aren't there to invade, I'd still feel uneasy with an army down my back."

"There is still a month before the council meets, I'm sure they will have made their move by then, for better or for worse. I think we can whip up a fighting army if we tried, and to be completely honest, we have three Alicorns. You, me, and Luna could all devastate any enemy army together. War is unlikely, but I will plan for it just in case."

"Thank you. You may take your leave now. I will see you in a month Silver Moon."

At that, he turned and left, probably to consult Luna, leaving Celestia alone. She really hoped he was right, and the army would move on before it led to war.

Chapter 4: The Council Meeting

To Silver Moon, the next month passed with blinding speed, during which he worked nonstop to prepare for a possible threat. He flew all over Equestria; searching for volunteers, generals, blacksmiths, and armorers, anyone that might be needed should the country go to war. Of course, none of these ponies he was looking at knew he wanted them for an army. He tested their willingness and abilities in indirect ways. He watched them among friends to see their leadership; he ordered extravagant things to test their skill and speed in a craft, all normal things to test them. He did not sleep at all during the time between Celestia's message and the meeting; he was too busy preparing for what might come. _It's funny,_ He thought, _that a bunch of ponies sit on our border and now I'm running around trying to prepare for war_. He was pleased with his results, for many Equestrians would fight and die for their country and their princesses. The day before the meeting, he decided against going to Soulrunner's town to meet with the other councilmen. Silver Moon's estate was in Everfree, and he was the only noble allowed to come and go unannounced to the palace, so if Celestia needed his advice, he wouldn't be far. Soulrunner lived on the other side of Equestria, and Silver Moon was way too exhausted to make the journey, only to listen to some nobles talk about useless things. He climbed into a bed in of the palace's guest rooms and fell asleep, all intent of going in the morning completely gone.

He dreamed pleasantly at first, given the stress he had put himself through. He was standing next to Luna, and playing with her in a field, like they used to in the old days. The six Elements of Harmony swirled in the background as they laughed and played. Suddenly, the Elements zoomed in tighter, and neared the two of them. The sky darkened, and a black mist surrounded them. Laughter came echoing out, and a black figure materialized in front of them. A black Alicorn, standing over Celestia's lifeless body, appeared in front of them. The Alicorn reared its head, and charged at Luna.

He woke in a shock, his mind filled with the thought of that black Alicorn chasing down Luna. He looked around the room, and out the window. Based on the position the sun was in, he had only been asleep for a few hours. The sun was barely above the trees, and he had fallen asleep just before moonset. He was however, three hours past the time he and Celestia had agreed upon to head out to set out to Soulrunner's town. He rolled over to go back to sleep, milling his thoughts as he succumbed to unconsciousness. Just as he had reached a light level of rest, the door clicked open. Silver Moon shot up once again, only to relax as he saw Luna, who looked very surprised to see him there.

"Silver Moon, what are you still doing here?" She asked.

"I decided against going to the meeting. I've done far too much in this past month with far too little rest. I haven't missed a meeting since the council's creation; I think I can afford to miss this one."

"But why? Why would you leave Celestia alone to go to Soulrunner? We already agreed neither of us trust him, and she's flying right into the place where he has the most power. She was waiting for you, by the way. She wanted you to act as a bodyguard."

"Bodyguard? But I'm a scholar, and Celestia knows that. I don't pretend to be a warrior."

"Silver, we both know you are extremely adept with magic. I don't think anyone in Equestria, save my sister and I of course, could beat you in a duel."

"You have never seen me fight, but I see what you are saying. Celestia wanted me as an escort and I wasn't there. But I'm sure that it will amount to-" Silver broke off suddenly. In his dream, a black Alicorn had killed Celestia, but Soulrunner was a black unicorn. Also, in the previous meeting, had he not demanded Silver hand over the Elements? And Soulrunner lived near the northern border, where there was a Pegasus army waiting for no reason. He was baiting them all to his town too, most likely so he could pull a trap on them. Silver beat himself for not seeing it sooner and immediately stood up. "Luna, I'm setting out immediately. No matter what happens, do not come to that area of Equestria."

With that he spread his wings, and flew out the window. He could not catch up to Celestia now, but he could definitely make it there before the meeting started. Fighting exhaustion, he accelerated as fast as he possibly could, toward the place he wanted to avoid. He might have broken the sound barrier, but he didn't care. All that mattered to him was getting to that meeting. Suddenly, he was blown off course by a strong wind. He looked around anxiously, and his heart sunk in fear. He had made the number one mistake of flying; he had flown right into a thunderstorm.

Thunder and lightning surrounded him, and he could not see anything, not even the ground beneath him. The winds came from all sides, and buffeted him in between them, tossing him around like a doll being fought over by children. He was too tired to care, and he succumbed to the storm. For a long time he was helpless, unable to summon his magic due to his exhaustion, and unable to fly away due to the wind. Then he remembered where he was going, and what he was trying to accomplish, and found new resolve to get himself out of this. He summoned his magic, and directed his wings to bring him to the center of the storm. Then, Silver Moon released a spell, a powerful spell that even the most powerful unicorns would have trouble doing by themselves, with full energy. A great beam shot from his horn, and cut through the center of the storm, and spread out through the rest of it, destroying the clouds and stopping the storm. He turned, and continued on his rapid flight to save the council.

Finally, after hours more of flying, he saw the estate of Soulrunner, a huge villa built over the town he governs. He landed in a bush close to the path, and changed his form to his normal grey unicorn, the form he always wore during meetings. Based on the position of the sun, he was about half of an hour late. He stumbled out of the bush and galloped up the path to the villa. When he got to the gate, the guards stationed refused to admit him.

"No one is allowed in while the meeting is in progress." They said. "Lord Soulrunner will meet your request after its conclusion."

Silver Moon was tired and impatient, so he immediately told them, "My name is Lord Silver Moon, most senior member of the Royal Council, and personal advisor to the princesses of this realm. Soulrunner has no right keeping me out here just because I late to a meeting that he invited me to. I hold more authority than him so don't just stand there, open the gate! I'm going in, so if I have to blast the door down, I will. I need to see the princess and it is my right to have a voice in this meeting."

The guards were nervous about this newcomer. At first, they did not believe this grey unicorn was the great and powerful Silver Moon, whom so many rumors centered around. However, when he mentioned blowing down the door, his horn started glowing, and they could feel his power emanating from it. They knew he would go in, and he would not hesitate to blast them if they refused him. Reluctantly disobeying orders, they opened the gate.

Silver Moon rushed in, for his sense of dread was growing. Something was wrong; he could feel dark magic in the air. He rushed down the hallway, and found the door leading to the meeting chamber. He could here no voices from inside. He pushed it open, and found Soulrunner standing on a balcony leading to the floor above. The other council members, and Celestia, were gathered underneath him.

"Esteemed members of the council," he was saying, "I have called you all here to meet in my gracious halls. While they cannot match the eloquence of Canterlot, I hope that this past half hour has been enjoyable. Now, I'm afraid we must now discuss business." Silver Moon was standing in the shadow caused by the candles that lit up the room. The black walls were simply too light absorbent to use sunlight, so Soulrunner lit it up with candles. It added an ominous effect to the room, but it allowed Silver to remain unseen. As Soulrunner spoke, guards rushed in, from both the door Silver had entered through, and the doors on the second floor balcony. The council members were completely surrounded by Soulrunner's guard.

"Soulrunner!" Celestia called. "What is the meaning of this? Armed troops in a council meeting? That's unheard of!"

"Celestia," He replied in his silver tongued voice, "be a dear and shut it. No one cares what you have to say, and you're not fit to rule this kingdom. You use your power like a spoiled brat, and throw a tantrum when you can't get what you want. I'm here to fix that."

His horn started glowing, and a great purple circle appeared underneath Celestia, who was immediately paralyzed. Silver Moon recognized the spell, and couldn't believe Soulrunner was using it. He stepped out from the shadows, revealing himself.

"Soulrunner, that's treason," he said, "and the very use of that spell is license for death in this kingdom. How do you have the power to use it on Celestia anyway? No unicorn should be able to trap her."

"Ah, Silver Moon, our resident scholar. I'm surprised you were let in, but it doesn't matter. I hope you had a pleasant journey over, because you won't be going back. To answer your question, I've done this one some of my court wizards, increasing my own power. Celestia shall be the fifth victim to this spell by my hand. No longer will I be a normal, pathetic unicorn, but an almighty god, an Alicorn! Have you read anything about them? I don't expect you to know anything about that long lost race, as they died out centuries ago, and almost no records remain. Alicorns were not only gifted with both magic and wings, but the potency of their magic and the speeds they could fly at were much more powerful than that of even the most powerful unicorn, or the most skilled pegasus. They could rival gods, and that's exactly what I will become when this spell is complete. Wait, how is it you know what it does?"

"I've studied many forms of magic, and I know almost every spell worth knowing. I've been a scholar of magic for many, many years."

"You don't look older than me. I thought all that talk about you being the most senior member was due to your high intelligence. You mean to tell me you are the second oldest on the council?"

"The oldest," Silver was just trying to keep Soulrunner talking while he worked on freeing Celestia, who was nearly unconscious at this point. "I'm the oldest living thing in this room, and I know exactly what that spell does. First, it traps the victim in that circle, paralyzing it. Then, it sucks the power out of the trapped creature, magic and flight, and into the castor. However, in order to cast the spell on Celestia, you need to be extremely powerful already."

"I already told you, I drained the power of my court wizards. You forgot to mention the part where it kills the victim as well. It drains so much energy; the creature can't go on living."

Silver realized all the guards were watching this conversation with great interest, but were not intervening. He spell was nearly ready, but it was taking longer because his magic was less potent in unicorn form, and he was charging the spell in his body, not his horn for he didn't want Soulrunner to see the glow. He ran out of time however, as the change started. Celestia's horn started to shrink as Soulrunner's began to grow. All of him did actually, and he started to develop black wings. He was growing taller and more muscular, and his horn was getting bigger and thicker. Whereas Silver Moon's real form was tall and graceful, even for an Alicorn, Soulrunner's was becoming big and muscular, reminding Silver of the great Earth god, who had brought about the fall. Silver finished his spell, moved the magic to the horn, and shot Celestia, all in a time span of less than a second. The circle broke, and Celestia was free, but not before almost all of her power was drained. She looked like a normal white earth pony now, with no horn or wings, and her normally rainbow mane was now plain and pink.

Soulrunner on the other hand, was now a huge horse. He had grown to Celestia's old height, but had a great deal more muscle than she or Silver had. His mane was now a trail of fire, streaming back from his head. Silver had seen this transformation before, and the Alicorns with fire manes were called Nightmares in his people's time.

"Yes!" He screamed, "It's mine! Ultimate power is finally mine! All will now bow to my rule!" Silver then released another spell. It took a toll on him, but he fought off exhaustion to surround Soulrunner in a black, shadowy ball. This spell was designed to take the trapped creatures power, but not drain it. It worked a great deal faster than the circle spell, and it wasn't forbidden magic, as it was just a weakening agent.

Soulrunner broke free after about a minute, rage in his eyes that Silver had trapped him for so long. He looked more tired, and he stood with less strength in his legs.

"You are very powerful, Silver Moon. You must be if you can trap an Alicorn for so long. How many have you drained? You know the spell, have you done it before?"

"Soulrunner I assure you, I was born with every drop of the power I have."

"Do you honestly think Soulrunner is my real name? I just made that stupid alias up so that you wouldn't recognize a unicorn general from the West. I murdered the Lord here so I could take his place in the council. Of course, now that I have the power of the sun, you may call me Eclipse."

"Well, Eclipse, I hope you don't enjoy what you stole too much, because I'm going to take all that power back and give it to its rightful owner."

"You really think I can be touched by a mere unicorn like yourself? I am above your power, who cares if you got me in a ball? It didn't hurt at all, that spell did nothing!"

With that he shot a high powered beam of purple magic at Silver. There was a flash of light, and no longer was Silver in his small unicorn form, but was now in his true form, the tall, graceful Alicorn. He had not only blocked the spell, but he had trapped it is some kind of blue ball. The ball was currently spinning around Silver, and it broke on one pass and shot Eclipse's shot back at him.

Eclipse took the blow, and looked down at Silver Moon. He was facing a silver Alicorn, taller and more elegant than his new form, with a hide that looked like some kind of mix between white and silver. His two wings were a bit bigger than Eclipse's, and He thought Silver had slightly bigger wings than the two princesses had. Not by a lot, but it did explain how he managed to get here so fast.

Eclipse smirked as he called down, "I was right! You did do this spell before. But on whom I wonder? Luna? Perhaps you took her power before you came, and that is why you are so late."

"You really are an idiot aren't you? Alicorns were made in the image of the gods, and therefore counted sacred. Should thievery of an Alicorn's power ever occur, the thief would have his mane and tail set on fire and be branded as a Nightmare."

"Then how do you have that form?"

"I'm a true Alicorn, one who survived The Fall. All my skill and magic are natural, and that's how I'm going to take it from you right now."

Silver flew up into the air, and bombarded Eclipse with spells and blasts. He needed to end this quickly, because his exhaustion was catching up to him. Silver Moon hated Eclipse for betraying the kingdom and harming Celestia, but he knew he could not get angry. Even in his weakened state, if he lost his temper there would be no telling of what would happen to Celestia. Eclipse took all Silver's attacks, as they were meant to shoot a lot in a very short time, not do huge amounts of pain to him. Eclipse blasted Silver back with a purple line of energy, and when he was buffeted, he launched a single, much more powerful laser at him. Silver blocked, but his shield was much weaker than it would have been had he taken time to rest. Silver stumbled upon the floor, and realized his vision was blurring. Another laser had hit his golden chestplate, and he was very glad to have that and the golden shinguards he wore. Silver looked over at Celestia, who was watching the whole thing with great shock, her eyes the only part of her body that showed any signs of movement.

Suddenly, Silver did something unexpected, his launched two giant beams of energy out of his horn, and got Eclipse in the air. Then he pulled Eclipse down to the ground, and kicked Eclipse with his hind legs. He felt at least two ribs give way, and he made an Alicorn-shaped indent in the wall. Celestia gasped at his kick, and Eclipse turned his attention to her when he recovered. He launched a fatal laser at her, and she was defenseless to do anything. There was a big explosion, and Eclipse thought he had killed the Princess.

When the smoke cleared, Celestia was fine. She was still in the same position, but there was a rainbow semicircle around her. Inside the circle were six gems, spinning around the white pony. Silver looked over at Eclipse with a smug look.

"You know," he said, "I am not called Keeper of the Elements for no reason. I can call them to me at will. As long as those gems continue to spin in that circle, Celestia cannot be touched by anything that means her harm, which leaves me free to destroy you."

"You can't! You too weak, especially if this is the best you've got."

"I can't beat you right now Eclipse. At least, not when I'm this tired. I will tell you this before we flee though, you picked the wrong name."

"How is that? I have taken on the mantle of the sun god, and I choose the name Eclipse."

"Because there's already an Alicorn who draws power from the sun and moon equally, and that's me. My magic gets powered up by a solar eclipse, just look at my talent sign."

Eclipse looked at his flank, for he assumed talent sign meant cutie mark. It was a black sun, and inside of it, on the lower edge, there was a cresent moon along the side of the sun. As he looked back up, Silver's horn was already glowing, and through the ceiling window Eclipse saw the sun moving directly ahead. Soon after, the moon followed, and they covered each other right over the palace. Silver's hide turned to a dark blue color, and he closed his eyes. He lifted himself in the air with his wings, and started to charge up the spell, for Eclipse had been immobilized by a discreet spell Silver cast as he was moving the celestial bodies. A visible blue aura started to glow around him, and when he opened his eyes, they were glowing the same color blue as his horn. The aura went into him, and then forced itself back out, very violently. A huge flash of blue light commenced, and the entire manor was flattened when it cleared. Silver fell to the ground, barely able to stand up, and released his hold on Eclipse. Eclipse had taken a huge blow, and was stunned. If Silver kept that spell up much longer, he would run out of energy and pass out from exhaustion. Silver ran over to Celestia, and grabbed her neck in between his teeth. He flew up into the air, and teleported away before Eclipse could notice he was free.

Silver appeared in the air a bit away from Eclipse's town, but he had used up all of his magic energy. He was now carrying Celestia through the air using only the strength in his muscles, and was gliding speedily through the air toward Everfree. He was beyond exhausted, and worried if he ever would wake up if he decided to fall asleep when he got to safety. He glanced down, and saw Celestia looking up at him, with surprise and even a hint of awe in her eyes. Right now, she was about the size of a regular earth pony, but he could tell that she was impressed at the fact he could go a month with barely any sleep, then fly across the country, then have a magic duel, and then still have the strength to carry her in his mouth and use his wing power to fly them back across the country. He would have some answering to do, but that could wait. He clipped his wings to gain speed, and accelerated even faster than he was already going.

Eventually, just went Silver thought he would kill both of them by falling unconscious in the air, he saw the city of Everfree. His strength replenished, he gave one final burst of speed to his wings, and using that momentum, he was able to soar into the city and toward the palace. He came full speed into the balcony of the royal throne room, dropped Celestia, and crashed on the floor. He did not know if he was conscious when he hit the ground at full speed, but if he was, he was too tired to feel the pain.


	4. Utopia

Chapter 5: Utopia

Luna awoke to a loud crash resounding from the floors below her. She slept during the day, as Night was her domain, and she had fallen asleep almost as soon as Silver Moon had departed for the meeting. She could tell something was wrong, she could feel it in the air. She galloped down the stairs to the throne room, where she saw a disturbing sight waiting for her. Silver Moon was on the ground, not moving at all, while a white earth pony with a pink mane and tail looked down at him. Silver's eyes were closed, and he showed no signs of life, other than the rise and fall of his flank to show he was still breathing.

"What happened?" Luna said aloud to herself.

"He flew in here dead tired, and the effort was too much for him. He hasn't gotten any sleep for a long time, but he saved my life. I've never seen anything like it." The white pony said solemnly. Her tone was one of both shock and sadness, and she seemed deeply impressed with Silver.

Luna remembered the pony as she spoke, and turned to her. "Who are you? You say Silver saved your life, but there are no white earth ponies on the council. Where is Celestia? Did something happen at the meeting?"

The pony seemed at the verge of tears now, and when she spoke her voice cracked. "Luna, don't you recognize me? I AM Celestia, and Silver did save my life at the meeting. I was a fool, both for not listening to Silver's warning and for trusting Soulrunner. He did something, I do not know exactly what, but he stole my powers. He got the powers of the sun god, and transformed into something dark and terrifying. Silver not only stopped him, but dueled him fiercely. It like nothing I had ever seen, he was amazing. Silver has hid his power from us, I'm telling you. He summoned the elements to protect me and completely destroyed the manor, and then he flew me in his mouth back here, fighting exhaustion the entire way."

As Celestia talked, Luna had some servants move Silver to a bed in one of the guest rooms. She looked down at this pony claiming to be her sister. She was about half Luna's size, and looked like a completely different pony without her horn or wings. Overall, she looked nothing like Celestia. However, when Luna looked into her eyes, she suddenly had no doubt that this was indeed her sister.

"How did Soulrunner do it? More importantly, what happened to the other council members?"

"I don't know, but I fear the worst. He probably stole the unicorns power, or maybe he killed them, thinking he doesn't need any more power. One thing's for certain, we will not see them again for a long time."

Luna looked over at the door the servants took Silver through. "Silver certainly has a lot of explaining to do when he wakes up."

"My thoughts exactly, sister."

Luna then suggested that Celestia should keep out of sight of the public for the time being, and she agreed. Luna then took over the rest of the day's duties, as they waited for Silver to wake. Then, after moonrise, Celestia went to sleep herself, and Luna was left to her thoughts. She felt really bad about what had happened to Celestia, but a small part of her was overjoyed. She was now the only fit princess to rule Equestria, and she liked the idea of that. After all, hadn't Celestia tried to take away her powers? Hadn't she placed a curfew that prevented anypony from enjoying the wonders of the night? Hadn't she excluded Luna from the creation of the laws and decisions that were made? Celestia deserved this; it was Luna's time to shine now. _No,_ she thought to herself, _Celestia did not deserve this, no matter what she did or what she meant._ She was ashamed of herself for even thinking such a thing, and the very thought that she could feel that way scared her.

The night passed rather uneventfully after that, and she was grateful to welcome moonset, though she was surprised to see the sun rising like normal, though Celestia couldn't do it herself. Her answer came with a shock as she walked to the guest rooms to check up on Silver. It _was_ Celestia, standing at her full height and power, raising the sun from the same window Silver had flown out of to get to the meeting. Luna couldn't believe her eyes. Celestia's rainbow mane covered one eye like it always did, but Luna couldn't help noticing that her cutie mark was a black sun instead of a golden one. She looked around and noticed Silver was not in the room.

"That was a cruel joke, Silver Moon. You shouldn't mess with people like that."

The Silver/Celestia frowned as it said, in Celestia's voice, "Well, I wasn't trying to make you believe I was Celestia, that's why I left the talent sign black. I just wanted to look like Celestia so that anyone who happened to be looking wouldn't think something's wrong. Plus it's a way to pass Celestia off like nothing happened." He reverted back to his regular form, and Luna saw he was a bit worse for wear. He was covered in bruises and small cuts from his battle with Soulrunner, but he paid them no mind.

"Pass Celestia off? You mean to say you can do that transformation spell on other people?" Luna asked.

"Of course. However, something I'm not willing to do is give Celestia my power, as I will most likely need that in the days to come. I can make her look like an Alicorn, but I'm not going to give her my magical energy. Also, seeing as it is an advanced spell, I'll only cast it when she needs to look like herself, which she will while I am away."

"You are leaving? But you are injured! You are still recuperating, and you need to recharge your magic."

"Luna, don't worry. I'm sure I look a lot more hurt than I actually am, as it takes much more than a few lasers to hurt me. As for my magical energy, it's already recharged. When I sleep, I go into such a deep sleep that next to nothing can wake me, and the deeper into the realm of sleep you are, the faster your body heals."

"But still! Where could you possibly go at this time? Equestria is threatening war and you're running away?" She knew at once that was the wrong thing to say. Silver never got angry at Luna, but the frown he gave her was more than enough to make her regret those words.

"I am not fleeing," he said simply, "but I must leave. Seeing as you are so torn up about it, you can come with me. I intend to head back to the place of my birth for a few days. The golden city of the Alicorns, Utopia. There are some things I need to examine there that will help us fight Eclipse."

"Eclipse?"

"Soulrunner changed his name to Eclipse when he took Celestia's power. We must leave soon, assuming you wish to come." Luna nodded at this. "I must find Celestia and put the spell on her. Pack us some food and water while I do that. We will be gone for three days, assuming all goes well. Long has it been since I have set foot in that grand city, and I don't know what state it might be in." He then ran off to find Celestia, while Luna packed the provisions. Luna thought something was weird about him today, for his speech had taken a step back in time. _Perhaps he's just excited about going back,_ she thought. _After all, I talk differently when I'm nervous._ When she finished packing, she looked for Silver and Celestia. When she found them, Celestia looked exactly like her old self, with the right cutie mark and everything. Silver was explaining where they were going to her.

"We will be gone for three days," he was saying, "and that is assuming everything goes well. This form will last you until then, but if I do not return before it runs out, you must govern from behind closed doors."

"I understand, just return soon. I need you now more than ever Silver Moon."

"You have Luna as well. Never forget your kin, as they are often the thing held most dear but are taken most for granted. I will return, goodbye Celestia."

As Silver turned to meet Luna, she asked him, "I want to ask you something I have been thinking about. Utopia must be very far away, how are we going to get there, do what you need to do, and get back in three days?"

To her surprise, Silver actually laughed. "The journey will not take three days, nor even one. We will not fly over the sea."

"How will we get there then?"

To answer her question, Silver stepped closer and touched his glowing horn to hers. Luna then felt a warm sensation, and her body started tickling. The world seemed to swirl around them, and Silver seemed very concentrated on something. Suddenly, it stopped, and Silver looked up. Luna looked up and gasped. They were standing on a circular courtyard at the end of a road. Behind them was nothing but sky, and in front of them was dazzling. At the end of a long and straight road made of some flawless white material, was a huge city. The buildings were exquisite and golden, and the plant life added even more beauty to the place. It was, in every sense of the word, a utopia.

"Welcome," Silver said smiling, "to home."

Luna was to taken with the city to speak. Here was a place of magic, and something entranced her in such a way that only marvels of the world can. However, as Silver spoke, she noticed something weird about the city, something that contradicted what Silver had told her about the city.

"It's beautiful," she began, "but something doesn't make sense to me."

"And what would that be?"

"How can this be? I thought you said the city was destroyed during The Fall."

"They were. You see, Alicorns were made by the earth god in his own image. Because of that, we were extremely powerful with our magic. However, with great power comes great reluctance to do anything manually, and most of us were very lazy. During the city's construction, the architects wanted to put in some spells that would both defend the city and make the lives of its inhabitants easier. I was born long after the city was finished, but I do know most of its secrets. One such enchantment is obvious. The city is flying, that's why all you can see is clouds around us. The only people who can get in here are those who can fly, and even then they need to find it. Another enchantment is less well known. The spell allows the city to retain a memory of what it originally looked like, and if it is ever damaged, it tries to meet that memory. The city rebuilds itself. That answers your question, however there's more. An Alicorn of status who wished to add a building or even a section of the city, he or she could just edit the memory magically and the city would build that new addition because of the spell. The very thought of building something like that proved our laziness as a race."

That fascinated Luna even more than she already was. The thought that a city could build itself? That sounded amazing and impossible. Silver started down the road and beckoned for Luna to follow. They walked a long while into the city, which was grander than Everfree, in fact, even when Canterlot was finished, it still could not possibly match the splendor of Utopia. Silver stopped outside of a large building elegantly decorated with carvings in the side and a depiction of a sun with a crescent moon inside of it above the door.

"This is where I used to teach," Silver remarked with a hint if nostalgia in his voice. "I can almost hear the students as they wait for me to come."

"You were a teacher?" Luna said as they walked in. "But I thought you were a scholar?"

"Oh yes I taught. I taught lessons of magic to many Alicorns for many years. Even those who weren't Alicorns came to learn. Unicorns and Alicorns alike came to this school, eager to learn what I had to teach. I am a scholar now, but before the Fall I taught students who were willing to learn."

"How did unicorn fillies get to Utopia?"

"Oh, I did teach fillies and colts, but I also taught mares and stallions. Young and old, if they had a desire to learn, I taught them."

"It seems you were extremely popular. Were you the only teacher in Utopia?"

"Oh no, of course not. I was popular because for some reason, people thought I was the best. I think it was because the most powerful princess we ever had, Princess Arcana, was taught by me. After she rose to power, and it became clear she was one of the most powerful Alicorns in history, people flocked to my school. It was funny in her case. That was when I had recently opened up my school. I had only returned from my training a year earlier, but the King and Queen decided to take a chance with me and enrolled their daughter with me. She was about the same age as me at the time, and we got along well. I like to think I did a good job training her, but I can't help thinking her parents could have let her train under someone more powerful than I. However, I must have been doing something right because no one ever stopped attending unless I made them leave, and no one ever complained that we weren't going fast enough. I did however get a lot of complaints that I was pushing them too hard. However, like my teacher always said, 'If they aren't complaining, they aren't working hard enough.'" He sat on the floor as he said this, lost in pleasant memories. The room was full of desks and chairs like a normal classroom. At the head of the room was a podium for the teacher to stand, and though some chairs were broken and some with blackened and scorched, it was a scene relatively untouched by The Fall.

"This doesn't look like a room for just teaching magic. It seems more academic than practical."

"That's because I didn't just teach magic. I taught everything people needed to learn. Magic, flight, academic skills, astronomy, I taught what people needed to know."

Luna then absorbed this, and followed Silver as he got up and moved to the building next door, which was even larger than the school. It was a library, and it was stocked with more books than she had ever even seen.

"This is where I lived. These are my research materials and studied works over the years, and a fair deal of them were written by me."

"You lived in a library?"

"Yes, I'm a scholar. I was a teacher for a while, but I never stopped learning. Even when I thought I knew everything about magic, there was something more to uncover, or even discover for myself. I have invented more than my fair share of spells. I am lucky actually. This is one of the few buildings the earth god didn't touch during The Fall, and this is where we will stay while we are here. Rest, as I expect you are tired. The bedroom is down the hallway. The door at the end of the hall."

Luna was dead tired, as she had stayed up the night before. She turned to head to the bedroom he mentioned, when a thought hit her. "One question before I sleep. What happened to Princess Arcana?"

Silver paused for a moment before he answered. "As I mentioned, she went on to become the most powerful ruler Utopia has ever seen. She kept a strong friendship with me though, and I stood beside her during every year of her rule, as I do with you and Celestia. She had several children with lives of thier own. Crystal, Cinder... and Silver Moon."

"She named a child after you?"

"Her only son. He died many years before the fall, but yes, for a time there were two Silver Moons living in Utopia." It was obvious this was a sore subject for him, so she turned and walked to the bedroom. She found it with no problem, and fell asleep almost as soon as she laid down.

She awoke after moonrise. She figured Silver had handled the sun and the moon as he always did when she or Celestia couldn't do it. She walked back out to the main library, and nearly laughed at the scene she saw. Silver had surrounded himself with books and had fallen asleep while reading them. He looked very comical sleeping in the middle of a mountain of books. She did not want to wake him, and she felt the need to do something. After careful consideration, she decided to explore the city at night time and see what she could learn about it and its history.

She wandered about the city for a while, eventually came to be what she assumed to be the city center. They had passed here on the way to Silver's school, but she hadn't had a chance to look closely. They was a big green tree in the center of a circular courtyard. The biggest and most grand building in the city stood in front of her. It was the royal palace, and it certainly looked it. She closed her eyes in front of the tree and tried to imagine the place full of life, as it once was.

Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her. It was the sound of galloping hooves, and many of them. She turned around to see Silver leading a bunch of fillies to the palace.

"Silver, where did you-"

"Run children!" Screamed Silver, cutting her off. "Ragnarok will not get you if we just keep going. Get to the palace, the King will protect you."

The group ran right past Luna, not even noticing she was there. When she turned around, she gasped in horror. The buildings from the palace to the courtyard where they first arrived in Utopia were destroyed or burning. Craters littered the ground, and many bodies of dead Alicorns littered the streets. Flying above her was the cause of it all. A red Alicorn hovered in the air, a huge aura of power crackled around him. Utopia _was_ inhabited, and it looked like The Fall was about to happen all over again. This red Alicorn was huge, in every sense of the word. He was not only bigger than Luna or Celestia, but was very muscular, and his mane was a trail of fire, burning fiercely with a rage unsurpassed by any she had seen before. He looked right at the group of fleeing Alicorns, and shot a huge beam at them.

Suddenly, Silver turned around and put up a force field that withstood the attack, with great difficulty. The red Alicorn looked shocked beyond words as Silver blocked the attack.

"Ragnarok!" Silver called. "I demand you cease your attack! These are innocents!"

"I will not." The red Alicorn spoke in a deep and harsh voice. "You were all mistakes on my record, you never deserved to be created, and that is a mistake I intend to correct."

"Then I challenge you. A duel to the death!"

_Don't do it, Silver,_ Luna thought. She was too absorbed in the moment to talk aloud.

"And who are you, knave, to challenge me? I am Ragnarok, creator of worlds!"

"I am Silver Moon, star pupil of your brother."

Ragnarok narrowed his eyes at this. "I remember you. You're the little ass who just _had_ to do everything perfectly with no effort at all. A protégé they called you, though I think it goes beyond that. My brother called you the greatest Alicorn to ever live, yet here you are at my mercy."

"I am not at your mercy. The fact I still draw breath is proof enough."

"Very well, I accept your challenge. Prepare to die, Silver Moon. I hope you will last enough to at least give me pause. I would be very disappointed if my brother's star pupil was crushed in one spell."

With that Ragnarok crashed down and landed in front of Silver Moon. Luna could see now just how impressive an image Silver made when he was revealing his full power. Even though Ragnarok was huge, Silver was also really big. Luna had always known he was bigger than her, but seeing as she had known him as a filly, she was accustomed to it. Now that she saw him and Ragnarok standing so close, she realized he was indeed bigger than most Alicorns. However, despite their size, Silver was very different from Ragnarok. Ragnarok was strong, so much so that his body with was practically bursting with huge mounds of muscle, but Silver was not muscular at all. He was lean, but radiated with an inner strength that Luna had never felt in him before. Silver also had an attractive face and body. He was naturally good looking and Luna knew from experience he had a natural grace that Luna herself could not match. Ragnarok was ugly; there was no better use for the word. He held himself surely, but not gracefully as Silver did. She made all these observations within seconds, and then the duel began.

As it would happen Silver did not fall in one blow, nor two, nor three, nor even thirty. It was the longest and most amazing duel Luna had ever seen. Ragnarok was more powerful than anything she had ever felt before, but Silver gave him quite a challenge. He was not as powerful as Ragnarok, or if he was he was not showing it, but was battling with his mind. His attacks and blocks were weaker, but his mind was definitely smarter. If Ragnarok blasted with a straightforward beam, Silver would put up a shield, then at the last moment teleport behind Ragnarok and hit him from behind. The children Silver had been escorting were sheltered in a building only a few houses away from the palace. It was next to a tower, and had many windows, where they were watching in awe as their savior battled for his life.

Suddenly, Ragnarok pulled a cheap trick. He shot a high powered laser at the tower the fillies were next to, and watched as it fell. Silver then did something amazing. As the tower fell toward the fillies, he teleported directly under it and held it up with body. Luna couldn't believe her eyes. The inner strength she had felt from Silver was strong, but he had no idea he could hold something like that. As he strained under the weight he yelled for the fillies to run to the palace, and when they were safe he used his magic to throw the tower at Ragnarok. On its way, it hit Luna, and passed right through her. It was then she knew this was an illusion. They dueled for a while more, firing such powerful spells and going so fast, Luna could barely keep up. Both did things she had never even heard of, let alone used. Silver seemed very fond of a spell that allowed his force fields to wrap around the attacks and send them back at Ragnarok.

However, just when Luna thought it would go on forever, they were interrupted. A great glow came from the moon overhead, and another Alicorn joined the battlefield. He was just as big as both Silver and Ragnarok, and looked a lot like Silver. Silver's hide changed color in the night to a deep shade of blue, which is what this Alicorn had. His mane was like Luna's in the fact that there were stars swirling in it, but his seemed to have more. It was like the very cosmos themselves were in his mane. His eyes glowed white, and he had huge wings. His wings were bigger than an Alicorn needed to attain flight, but not so big as to prevent him from flying. Luna realized Silver had big wings too, but this Alicorn's were much bigger. Another interesting fact was that both Silver and the newcomer had the same cutie mark.

"Older brother," He said, a soothing tenor like Silver, "Why do you bring about this destruction and death?"

"Lunar Wing. How nice of you to join the gathering." Ragnarok spat. "I kill because I must. I made a mistake by creating these ungrateful swine and I intend to correct it."

"But why do you battle my former apprentice so?" Lunar asked.

"Because he was foolish enough to challenge me. He wishes to die with his people, a valiant but futile gesture."

"Heh," Silver laughed. "Futile? We have been dueling for quite a while and I am still breathing."

"Not for long."

"Ragnarok, that is enough. If you will not stop this I will have to destroy you." Lunar challenged.

"You can try, but I will destroy this city. Like... THIS!" Suddenly, before either Silver or Lunar could react, Ragnarok launched a beam at the palace, and forced it to explode into tiny pieces.

"NO!" Silver screamed, looking at the wreckage. Almost all the survivors had been in that palace. When he looked back to Ragnarok, he had hatred in his eyes that Luna had thought him incapable of. Lunar looked angry as well, and when Ragnarok noticed, his smile faded.

"Ragnarok," Lunar began, the anger in his voice all two obvious. "You just enraged two of the world's most peaceful Alicorns. We are also two of the most powerful. Very bad mistake, older brother." Silver's horn glowed and the sun and moon met in the center of the sky, creating a solar eclipse. Lunar then cast a spell, and a great light came down from the moon and hit Ragnarok. He was paralyzed.

"What's the matter?" Ragnarok challenged, "Can you not kill me? You two are both masters in your talents. You both have the same talent sign and both draw power from the sky, so shouldn't your combined powers be enough?"

Lunar then launched a giant white beam at Ragnarok, who was still trapped in the light from the moon. Silver then added his own blue beam to the mix, but it still wasn't enough. Ragnarok screamed in pain, but was not dying. Silver then called out six very specific names, and fearfully, six mares came out of their hiding places. Trembling with fear, they went closer to the scene, where Lunar summoned six gems, and gave one to each. The six understood what they needed to do, and stood in a circle surrounding Ragnarok. The six then blasted Ragnarok with a great rainbow from the gems, and he was overwhelmed. He was shrinking, but pulled out one last move as he did so. Ragnarok let loose one more laser, and it hit Silver square in the chest, sending him flying backwards. Soon after, Ragnarok lost his horn and wings, and a red mist was seeping into Lunar. Then, it was over.

Lunar sighed as he absorbed the last of the mist. "Ragnarok is a threat no more, for I have absorbed his power and locked it away deep within my body. I realize now it is not wise for gods of my power to mingle with mortals. You seven are all that remain of this once great race. Silver, if you can hear me, you are the world's greatest Alicorn, and savior of the world. I will leave this world, and never again will history mention Lunar Wing."

Suddenly a voice broke her concentration. "Enjoying the scene?"

Luna turned around to find the real Silver Moon standing behind her, and she looked on him with new awe. She so many questions, but it seemed Silver was in a hurry to get away from the scene, which was now disappearing now it had been interrupted.

"What was that?"

"They are the shadows of the past, and they only exist in magical places of the world. When an area is ripe with magic, important events that happened there are sometimes captured in history, and replayed during different days and nights. I knew Utopia could be one of those places, but I had no idea The Fall was recorded. Come, I will answer your questions in the morning." He then turned and headed back for his house, but Luna couldn't help but feel there was something he was avoiding.


	5. Preparations for War

Chapter 6: Preparations for War

Celestia, restored temporarily to her former form, was full of worry. Eclipse could, at any moment, invade Equestria with his armies and wipe them all out. She was not prepared for this, and she had lost her vast powers of sunlight, making her next to useless. With Silver Moon gone she was completely lost. At least he had some experience with war; Celestia had never even interacted with countries outside of Equestria. She had no idea what she should do in this situation.

As she was pondering this, one of her maids came into the throne room. She was a small earth pony, and seemed rather timid. She opened her mouth to speak with Celestia, but some unknown fear held her back. She tried again to speak, somewhat successful this time.

"My, my princess," Said the poor thing trembling, "I-I-I-" She just couldn't bring herself to talk in front of the princess.

"My dear servant," Celestia said warmly, "You don't have to be afraid, what is it you wish to tell me?"

"W-well you see, i-it's about Lord Silver Moon."

"Oh?"

"Right before he and Princess Luna left, Lord Silver Moon gave me a letter to give to you. He gave me very clear instructions to let no one but you read it. A-and I'm sorry, but I just had to! Lord Silver Moon is a legendary figure to us servants, and we hold him in awe, and I just had to see what had got someone like him so worked up!"

"Now now, I'm sure it will be fine. Silver Moon won't be angry at you, he's never angry to anyone."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Silver Moon is rumored to be the nicest and wisest pony in the court, and I can't handle that!" She was sobbing at this point. "If he were mad, I would feel bad, but the very first thing he tells me to do, and I disappoint him like this? I didn't want to let him down."

"But what did the letter say? Surely it addressed something rather important?"

"Yes it did, and that's what I was getting to. Silver's letter wasn't a letter at all, but a list of instructions. I figured if I did those instructions for you, you might be able to convince him to forgive me."

"So you already did what the letter told me to do?"

"Yes."

"What was it then?"

The maid then signaled the guards at the door, and in walked six mares. There were two earth ponies, two unicorns, and two pegasi. They all stood in a horizontal line and bowed before the princess. Then, the maid gave Celestia the letter, which made it clear what she needed to say.

_My dear Celestia,_

_I have returned to the place of my birth, Utopia, for a few days. Luna may have gone with me, as I expect she would like to join me and see the golden city of the Alicorns. I will return in a few days, as I have no doubt told you by this point. Until I return, there are certain preparations that are needed for war. The first priority is to get a standing army. I suggest building not one, but two standing armies, the Army of Sunlight, and the Legion of Night. I can deal with the recruiting when I return, as you will be busy doing everything else until then. Attached to this letter is a paper with the names of six ponies whom I believe should hold great status in their armies, as I have surveyed their skills before now. I advise you say this to them:_

Celestia then read off the words Silver had written for her, and did her best to sound as though it was a real speech, that she had made up. "Thank you six for coming, as I understand you don't know much of the current situation."

"Aw shucks Princess." Said one of them, an orange earth pony. "If you had gone an' hollered before now, we woulda come anyway."

Celestia acknowledged her words and continued speaking. "Yes, well, thank you in any event. Now to fill you all in on something that is not to leave this room. Not even my own servants can hear." As she spoke, everyone else in the room took the hint and left the seven alone. "Now, we have a serious situation on our hands. One of my own council members, Lord Soulrunner, has betrayed Equestria and committed the highest treason possible. He has stolen my powers and taken them for his own. Now I-"

"Stole your powers?" Interjected a pink earth pony, "You look fine to me. Unless you mean he gave them back, but that's not really stealing is it? It's more like borrowing if you got them back."

"You do look like your same lovely self, Princess." The speaker was now a white Unicorn.

"This is just a temporary form given to me by Lord Silver Moon, who deserves a position better than the one he has for all he's done for me. Now, because I am powerless, I cannot put down this traitor by myself, and need your help. Soulrunner threatens war on Equestria, and we must gather our own forces and fight him. I have gathered you all here to discuss certain preparations for war. I have taken council with my advisors, and I have listened to the suggestions of my oldest and wisest advisor, Lord Silver Moon. We will have two standing armies, the Army of Sunlight and the Legion of Night. You six have been called today because you have been watched. I believe you are the best to help lead this force and help us through this war."

She let this last bit hang in the air, and let them absorb it. She gave them enough time to realize the severity of what she said, and then spoke again.

"Now, I will assign you jobs and places I think you will find suit you. Sweet Apple, Step forward." The orange earth pony stepped ahead of the line. "You have been observed as an honest, strong, and determined young mare. Your determination and strength will shine as a beacon to other soldiers, and your honesty will show that no matter the situation, you will not lie to make it seem better. As such an example, I would like to offer you a position as an officer in the Army of Sunlight. You would lead the soldiers, and act as an example. It will not be a difficult position, as most of the planning and preparation will be done by the army's Grand General."

That last part of the speech confused Celestia. She looked over Silver Moon's letter a few times as she spoke, but nowhere did it actually say who that general it mentioned will be, or anything else about the position for that matter. She could only trust that Silver already had everything all planned out, for he almost always did. Sweet Apple graciously accepted her role as a leader and stepped back into line.

"Purity, step forward." Celestia called. The white unicorn who had spoken earlier now came forward. "You were observed at your place of work, where you practiced your craft. Lord Silver Moon went so far to actually come to you and order an extravagant suit in a rush order to see how fast you could make it without decreasing the quality. He was very impressed with the results."

"I remember that suit!" Purity exclaimed. "I thought it odd that such a normal looking unicorn could afford such an extravagant outfit, but he paid me much more than I actually charged. It was a garb of silver, with a trim of midnight blue and imbedded with sapphires. He was very specific and wanted it done in one day. You mean to say that grey unicorn was actually _the_ Silver Moon? The one so many rumors center around? Where is he, I simply _must _meet him!"

"Well, I am sorry to say he is away at the moment, though you will meet him soon enough. He insists that you six stay in his estate in Everfree while you are here, and I will show you where he lives after our business concludes." At the thought of living in the house of a nobleman, especially a rich and powerful nobleman, Purity was delighted. "Now, for your position. Silver Moon has noted that you are especially good at reinforcing your garbs with gemstones of varying hardness and color. I have taken that information into account, and I would like to offer you a position of an armorer for the Legion. You can make strong and sturdy armor using gemstones, but make them light and, if you wish stylish. It is very different than the clothes that you make for a living, but my reports say there is no other pony in Equestria with a talent like yours."

Purity gratefully accepted, still thinking of Silver Moon. For the next position, Celestia called forward Dragonshy, a yellow pegasus.

"Dragonshy," She began, "I have heard you have quite the talent. You can not only talk to animals, but they listen and trust you. I have but one request for you. I would like you to talk to your animal friends and see if they would like to help us. They do not need to fight, but they could help the Legion of Night by gathering food and helping to get wounded to safety. I will not say they can't fight if they want to, but they can help in other ways if they don't want to put their lives in danger."

Dragonshy simply nodded acceptance and stepped back into line, too nervous to speak. Now there only remained three mares, waiting eagerly to see what the princess would offer them. The pink earth pony was called up next.

"Diane 'Pinkie' Pie, please step forward. You will be stationed in the Army of Sunlight, and will be in charge of keeping their morale and spirits up. I heard you are very cheery and throw excellent parties, so I hope you can do whatever is necessary to keep them fighting. Do you accept the role of morale booster?"

"Yes, yes, yes, YES!" She shouted, bouncing where she stood. "I would love permission to throw parties and spread happiness to sad lonely ponies!"

"Okay then," Celestia said, a little surprised at the intensity of her reply, "Now, Dawn Sparkle, please come forth." A purple unicorn stepped out. "You are very adept at magic, so I have heard. Lord Silver Moon would like you to study some of the books in his library, then when you are ready, head the training of the unicorns in the Army of Sunlight."

"I would be honored, Princess Celestia."

"Good, then that just leaves Rainbow Storm, who is, as I've heard, the best flier in her town."

"In my town?" Storm interrupted, "I'm the best in Equestria! I've never met anyone who can fly faster than me."

"And that is why I have this job for you. Air support is very important, especially if we are going up against other Pegusi, which I fear we are. I want you to make an elite corps of fliers, and train them to be the best fliers they can be. We need an elite, synchronized group of pegusi to attack from above, and handle the enemy's air support as well."

"Great idea! I'll call them, the Wonderbolts. Thanks princess."

"Well, that seems to be everyone. I would like to thank you all for accepting these roles, as each and every one is of critical importance. As you have no doubt figured out by now, I am in constant contact with Lord Silver Moon about this situation, and he is currently away on business. He would like for you to stay here in Everfree for a few days, and says that you can be housed in his estate. He will give you more details on your positions when he returns in three days. Until then, please enjoy the wonders of the city, and remember that everything you may want or need can be purchased on his tab, as a gift from him to you. If you will follow me girls, I will show you his estate."

Celestia was nervous about this part. She had, for the most part, sticken to what Silver had waned her to say, even the bit about her showing them the way to his estate. She was nervous because even though she knew where he lived, she had never actually been there herself. She led them down the streets of town, and eventually came to his estate. It was huge, even for a Lord of Equestria. Celestia opened the door with ease, as Silver locked it only with a spell that barred the doors shut to any that were not authorized by him to enter. She was even more surprised at the inside. There were books galore, almost as though it were a library, and there were a few windows in the back, lying against the wall. Stain-glass ones that appeared as though Silver had meant to put them up but never actually did. They told some sort of story. The main room was circular, with a dome roof made of clear glass. There was a telescope on a balcony that stretched to the center of the room on the second floor. With the roof being a perfect dome, and the position of the estate in the city, you could see almost any constellation in the sky using that telescope. There were several other rooms leading off from the main, including a training room, for magic, strength, and flight. A very large and neat kitchen, a greenhouse, a large wing for bedrooms, a gathering hall for parties, located immediately next to the circular main room in the center of the house, and an odd room that only Celestia found herself able to go into. It was a strange room, full of vials and alembics, and strange chemicals that gave off different scents. There was a door on the opposite side of the room, but not even Celestia had access to it. All in all, it was a massive house with things all six of them would enjoy. Celestia bade them farewell, and went back to the palace, wishing Silver Moon would return soon, for now that she had done what he said, she hadn't the slightest idea of what to do to prepare.


	6. Long Hidden Secrets

Chapter 7: Long Hidden Secrets

Silver Moon returned to his old home with Luna, hoping he could at least stave off her questions until morning. Of course, the morning was not long in coming, for soon after he returned home, Luna lowered the moon and he raised the sun. He honestly hoped he would not ask her the questions he dreaded, for he could not bring himself to lie to her, and would answer them truthfully.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Alright Luna," he began, "I said I would answer your questions in the morning, and it is indeed morning. I will answer any questions you might have about what you saw.

"I have so many I don't know where to start." Luna admitted. "Who was that Alicorn you were fighting, and why was he so special?"

"Come with me, I'll show you his story." Silver then led Luna down the street to what looked to be a place of worship. He opened the door and led the way inside. On the wall were stain-glass windows. "His story is told on these windows. He is the big red one depicted here. See, in the beginning, there was nothing. After a while of there being nothing, a being popped into existence, for reasons that are still unknown. That being was the same Alicorn you saw last night. His name was Ragnarok, and he was incredibly powerful. He created this planet, and while he was just finishing it, another being was created. That young graceful blue one there. His name was Lunar Wing, and he thoroughly enjoyed what his brother had created. He created the sun in order to warm the planet. At the delight of creating the sun, he also created the moon, and all the stars. Lunar created almost everything other than this planet, and Ragnarok was jealous. For years he kept it to himself, for he had also created life, and that was something to balance out the score. However, one day he realized that his brother was receiving more praise and recognition than him. He resolved to destroy his own creations, and make bigger and better ones than not even Lunar could match. He started with the Alicorns, and eventually made his way to Utopia. You saw what happened after that."

Luna absorbed this for a while. Eventually she said, "So all that destruction happened because he was jealous of his brother's work? That's a lame excuse to destroy an entire race."

"Well, it wasn't just that. Lunar had everything Ragnarok didn't, and he hated his brother for it. Whereas Lunar was graceful and intelligent, Ragnarok was unsightly and rather blunt. Ragnarok was immensely strong, and he looked it, but Lunar was just as strong and didn't. Most of all, Lunar actually had friends, not just worshipers, and Ragnarok hated that. Also, the Alicorns were way too arrogant. You probably don't get how arrogant they were considering the only one you know is me, but most believed themselves level with gods. It is these reasons, as well as Ragnarok's pure jealousy, that led to The Fall."

"I still don't think he had an excuse."

"He was an almighty god! He doesn't need an excuse."

"Well, what about those six mares toward the end? They seemed to come out of nowhere, and seemed rather timid for choosing to hide so close to the main road, where Ragnarok was marching."

"I had approached them beforehand and given them designated hiding spots. Hidden enough to remain out of sight, but close enough to hear me when I called their names. They were the six bearers of the Elements, and that was the first known use of them in battle."

"You intended of fighting Ragnarok from the start?"

"Before he even got close to Utopia, I had a plan. I was going to do my best to subdue him and tire him out, and then I would use the Elements to finish him and end his threat to the kingdom. I did not know Lunar would show up, but I did expect him."

"Rather cocky, not to mention dangerous, of you to go up against someone that powerful."

"Something inside me knew I could take him. Actually, now that I think back on it, I forgot to go to my full power. Lunar taught me to block my power and drilled into my head to never go one hundred percent unless it was an absolute do or die situation. I was fighting Ragnarok with everything I had, but I had forgotten to remove the block. Maybe I could've stopped him from blowing up the palace if I had been but a little stronger."

"That wasn't your fault, it was Ragnarok's. How were you to know that Ragnarok intended on killing the innocent mares and fillies in a single blow?" Silver still looked solemn, and did not speak. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he could've stopped Ragnarok.

"Lunar Wing himself personally trained me. Every day for ten years I lived and trained with him. He had intended on keeping me for fifteen, but I guess he thought I was ready after ten. Yet still, with all his training, I still couldn't do the thing I had wished so much to do. I couldn't mean something to my people. They died because I was not strong enough to save them."

Silver looked up from the ground. Luna had a look in her eyes that told him she was hurting inside. She hurt because he hurt. Silver had learned a long time ago how to read emotions inside of eyes, and he realized now what his must be saying. Luna also had a look of nervousness, and Silver wondered what it was she could possibly be nervous about.

"Silver," she began, "thou hast shown incredible skill in battle. I have seen thy skills in action, and would like to state that thou hast hidden much of thine power from me. I would like to formally challenge thee to a duel, and would request that no mercy be shown."

Silver burst out laughing. She was nervous alright, and those sentences proved it. Luna had a very strange nervous tick. Whenever she was nervous or scared, for some reason she would adopt an archaic language when she talked. It was hard for most to understand, but in his life, Silver had known a time where everyone spoke like that. She was saying that he had hidden his skill well from her, and would like to battle him to see who is the better fighter. She was also asking that he not hold back, which Silver was a bit nervous himself about. Luna was incredibly powerful herself, but her skills lacked the pure skill and control that can only be obtained from experience. _Luna may or may not be more powerful than me_, Silver thought, _but she would probably lose just because I know more, and have more experience__._

"Luna, I don't mean to disappoint, but I must-" Silver then saw a look of determination spark in her, and then he understood. Luna looked up to him, and respected him. No matter what had happened, or what he was currently doing, Silver tried his best to be kind and wise in everything he knew others would look to. He was a role model to her, and she wanted a chance to surpass him. He couldn't deny her this, not with that look. "I must accept. Follow me; there is a dueling arena inside of the palace."

He then walked out of the church and back into the streets. After a short while they reached the front of the palace, which was just as grand during the day as it was in the night. Silver escorted Luna inside, and entered the majestic great hall. On each side, there were three statues, each of a different mare. Each one wore a necklace with a gem inside of it, with the exception of one, who wore a crown with a gem. The grandest part however, was the seventh statue at the end of the hall. On each side of it were depictions on the wall of Lunar and Ragnarok, but the statue represented neither. It was a statue of Silver himself. He stood on his hind legs and looked down at the rest of the hall. Surrounding him were six gems, each seemingly floating in the air, leaving a trail behind it. This Silver was different than how he appeared to Luna. Though he looked the same, he had an expression on his face that showed he did not tolerate those that disrupt the lifestyle, and that he would fight to protect the city. Silver's statue was the largest and grandest, but he did not stop to admire himself.

Suddenly Luna asked, "Who built these? I would think they came after The Fall."

"They did," Silver replied, "but it was not necessary to build them from hoof. The city builds itself remember? The Element bearers edited this hall to look like this after The Fall, but before they themselves passed away. I was not in Utopia at the time, and was utterly astounded to see that statue of myself standing there. I could not bring myself to change the hall back, for it was their final gift to the city, and I wanted to honor them."

Luna turned back to the statues as she walked. With what Silver had just said, the effect was now stronger in her mind. Eventually Silver turned to a corridor to the left, and Luna's thoughts were forced back to the duel. At the end of this new corridor, Silver opened a door. There was a majestic golden arena inside. The ceiling was domed, and there were thousands of seats all around the arena, including a section with two bigger chairs for the King and Queen. The arch to the arena itself was bordered by two stone Alicorns, and there were stairs on either side leading up to the seats.

"This is it," Silver said, entering the arena. "Take a stance, and we will duel, but first." Silver placed his horn on Luna's head and cast a spell. He was already worried he might hurt her, and he certainly didn't want to fight her after she was tired from a night of no sleep. This spell filled her up with the same energy a full night of deep sleep would give her.

"Thank you," She said when he was done, "but remember, I want to see what you've been hiding. Don't you dare go easy on me, or let me win."

"I promise, I will fight you as I fought Ragnarok."

Silver then took a defensive stance, putting all his weight on his hind legs in preparation to jump. Luna then made her first mistake; she attacked without balancing her weight or taking a dueling stance. She shot a beam at Silver, who jumped nimbly over it, and using his wings, landed behind Luna. He swept with one of his front legs, and easily knocked her over. She rolled on the ground, and fired an ice shard at him while she was recovering.

Silver was impressed with her quick thinking, but had expected a counter attack. He shot forth a torrent of flame, which only melted the ice, be continued on to Luna herself. She blocked with an ice wall, and then shot a huge beam of frost, larger than Silver himself. Silver blocked it with a huge force field, one that was much bigger than necessary. He then made the field wrap around the beam, and released it back at Luna. She teleported just in time to avoid the potentially deadly counter attack, then appeared next to Silver. Using physical might, she hit him with one of her front hooves as hard as she could. Silver had expected a magical counter, not a physical blow, and took the hit. He was glad for all those years he had spent conditioning his body, for even though Luna was super strong, he was sure she took more pain than he did.

The blow winded him, and it did hurt. Luna used his temporary break in defense to freeze his hooves to the ground, and charge up for a large beam to hit him in the chest. Silver recovered, and easily broke out of the ice surrounding his hooves. He flew out of the way of Luna's blast, and watched as her jaw dropped in surprise.

Silver laughed, "You're not the only one here who's stronger than your normal earth pony!" He then used a bit of her own specialty against her, ice magic. His horn glowed blue, and all around Luna came spikes of ice from the ground. They all missed, and they formed a perfect circle around her. Luna must have felt the ground getting cold and realized what the spell was supposed to do, because right after she flew up off the ground, the ground in-between the pillars of ice froze completely.

Luna wasted no time in the air. She launched regular blue beams at him now, and he nimbly dodged them in the air. The duel had taken to the skies, and Silver liked this new turn of events. He charged up his horn, and flew around Luna. He flew faster and faster, and soon she was completely engulfed in a tornado caused by his flying. Then, he let loose the beam he had been charging, and watched as the tornado turned blue from the blast. Luna was now not only being buffeted but the winds, but now she was being hit over and over by his blast.

Eventually, Luna burst free of the tornado. There was anger in her eyes now, and Silver could tell this would lead to a mistake. Fighting with anger only decreases the chance of winning, as it clouds your thoughts and leads to stupid moves. Luna launched a beam at him now, though it was different than the others. It was huge, and it wasn't so much of a beam as a laser, for she kept channeling it, and it didn't stop flowing from her horn.

Silver once again took to flying, and easily dodged the laser that was so determined to hit him. For almost a full minute he flew, until Luna realized what he was doing. He was trying to get her to waste her energy so he could go in for the kill. She wasn't going to let that happen. She fired another ice shard, bigger than the first. Silver dodged it, but didn't expect it to loop around and hit him from behind. He took the blow, and fell to the ground. He acted as though the shard had hit his leg, and he was unable to get up. Luna landed near him, and charge up the blast to end the duel.

Just as she fired, Silver jumped forward. He stopped himself so Luna was behind him looking to the side. He kicked her with his hind legs, but not with his full strength, as he didn't want her to get seriously injured. As she was recovering, Silver wasted no time. He froze her to the ground like she did earlier, but he made the ice thicker and harder to escape from. Then, he launched a huge blue ball into the sky. He teleported away, and the ball burst, raining down hundreds of blue beams on the entire arena. Luna was helpless, and took all of them that hit her. Silver reappeared in front of her and hit her with a shockwave, knocking her down. She landed on her side, and tried to get up. Silver had paralyzed her, and she was unable to move. She was stuck, with her head and side exposed, and was unable to do anything to defend herself.

Silver charged up a spell. He merely charged up the energy, for an actual spell wasn't needed to prove his victory. She was immobilized and couldn't cast any magic. Therefore, if he wanted to, he was in a position to kill her. According to the universal laws of a duel, if it is obvious one side would be able to kill, the duel ends and that fighter declared victor. He freed Luna and let her get up.

He was impressed with her overall. She had put up a decent fight, and though he was always two steps ahead, she managed to prove her power to him. He wondered if he had done the same. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it immediately. He winced in pain, and thrashed his head about. He had lost control of his body, and was flailing about. The pain his body was in made him feel like he was about to be torn apart. After a few seconds of his head jerking, he started to sway as he jerked, like a horse trying to buck off something on its back. He moved from side to side and even stood on his hind legs. To any onlooker, it must have looked like a semi controlled seizure. Eventually he lost all control and fell to his side, where the pain overcame him, and he fell, still fighting the pain, into the threshold of unconsciousness.


	7. God and Goddess

Chapter 8: God and Goddess

Luna stood frozen to the ground as the duel reached its climax. She had realized from the start she had no hope of winning. Luna was a goddess, and everything about her was full of raw power. However, despite having raw power on her side, Silver had pure skill to counter it. He knew more than her, and had hundreds more years of experience. Evidence of that was right in front of her, while she stood helpless as Silver charged up a huge blue ball. As the blue beams rained down on her, she realized something. Silver had reinforced the ice more than she did when she trapped him, but not by much. If he could break out of that ice so easily, why couldn't she, a goddess, break out of a slightly stronger spell at all? Unless Silver was actually much stronger than her, which she doubted. It wasn't arrogance, it was just the fact that Silver was a normal Alicorn, and Luna was a goddess, at least according to Silver.

The duel was over; she was pummeled by the beams, and then came the finish. A shockwave to knock her down and a paralyzing spell to keep her there. Silver charged up the energy to prove he won the duel, and then let her get to her feet. Overall, she was impressed with him; he was always two steps ahead of her. He had proven his power to her, and she wondered if she had done the same.

Suddenly, Silver Moon, her perfect friend, the one pony who never got sick or mad, or anything other than his wise and kind self, started to jerk around crazily. Luna watched in horror as he fell to ground, still twitching, and grew motionless. _By the moon!_ she thought, _is he dead?_ Soon she saw the rising and falling of his flank, and she was slightly relieved. She lifted him up with magic, and teleported them both back to Silver's house.

She placed Silver on his bed, and realized he was still wearing his golden armor. For the first time, she wondered as to its purpose. She and Celestia had always assumed he wore it to be formal, and to match the royal guards that Celestia adorned in golden armor. However, even if that were the case, Luna saw now that Silver's armor was a different make from the armors made in Equestria, and besides, Silver was a scholar, why would he need armor? If anything, Silver wore his armor in a similar fashion to Luna and Celestia, but they wore it because they were royalty, Silver wasn't. As she pondered this, Luna noticed a small insignia on the breastplate he wore. It looked to be a crescent moon, with a crown on top of it, and a twinkling star behind the moon, where the sun was on Silver's cutie mark.

It was a curious mark, but the stirring of papers roused her from her thoughts. The window had been left open by Silver, and now the breeze was blowing things everywhere. She realized that she was in Silver's private room, and these papers most likely held some sort of incredibly complex problem or spell he had been working on. She used her magic to shut the window, and then catch the loose papers, putting them neatly on the desk next to the window.

As she did this, she noticed a dark shape in the corner, where a lot of the papers had gathered. It was a dark blanket, and when she moved it she found a chest underneath. Normally she wouldn't thing anything of it, but considering Silver had placed it in the corner and hidden it with a blanket that blended into the shadows, she was curious. Using a powerful unlocking spell, she opened the chest, which was darkened from its age, and found lying inside was the single most beautiful item she had ever beheld. It was a crown, elegantly crafted by someone who was obviously a master artisan, which put the pathetic things Luna and Celestia called crowns to shame. She took off her own crown, and placed it next to this one. It was so beautiful, she wanted to scorn her own crown and never pick it up again for being so ugly in comparison.

However, something didn't add up about the situation. Why did Silver have a crown in his chest at all, let alone one that puts every other crown in the world to shame? On a whim, she placed the crown on his sleeping head, was surprised to see it was a perfect fit, and that it matched his armor. Seeing as he was unconscious, his features had a serious look to them that, combined with the attire, gave him a regal look, like that of a natural born leader. Silver looked so much like a king and emanated such an aura of wisdom that if Luna were not royalty herself, she would bend down and bow to him.

"This is way too weird," Luna said to herself, "I think I will interrogate him when he gets up, assuming he is well. In the meantime, I should think that there is a lot of Utopia I still haven't seen. Perhaps I will find answers of my own if I look around some more."

Luna then replaced the crown and blanket as she had found them, and went out once again to explore the world's most ancient city. Eventually, a tower at the edge of the city caught her eye, and she went to it. Inside there was a large statue of Ragnarok, with a spiral staircase ascending around it to the upper floors. At the base of the statue, there was a blue crystal hovering in midair. There seemed to be something inside of the crystal, swirling about in a rhythmic movement. Luna had no idea what it could possibly be for, or even what this tower was supposed to be. Of course, her tour guide was currently unconscious from some unknown ailment at the moment, so she couldn't ask him.

Luna soon grew frustrated at the whole turn of events. Silver had fallen ill for the first time in her presence, and she didn't know how to help him. She couldn't even unravel the secrets of Utopia by herself, and to make matters even worse, it was their last day in Utopia and they still hadn't found anything that could possibly help them defeat Eclipse.

"How did this happen?" She shouted aloud, to no one in particular. "How did we go from having fun dueling one minute, to having an unconscious scholar the other? Of course, we still haven't found anything about Eclipse, or his weakness. I'm desperate! If only you were here Silver, you always seem to have the answer. If you don't wake up, I'm not sure what I will do. I can't figure out Eclipse by myself, I'll be lost. If only a master like Lunar Wing or even Princess Arcana had survived, then we might not be so lost."

Suddenly, as the sky darkened from the setting sun, a beam of sunlight hit the crystal. The crystal shook violently, and there was a blinding blue light that came from it. When it cleared, Luna was no longer alone in the room. There was a massive blue horse, much larger than her standing before her, gracefully standing upon its lean feet. Its wings were unfurled, and they were not only huge, but they seemed to glimmer when they moved, a trick that the feathers played. It was tall and graceful, and it radiated power, but not menacingly. Its eyes were white, and they seemed to glow in the coming darkness.

There really was no question; this horse was Lunar Wing, Silver's teacher.

"Greetings, young Alicorn," when Lunar spoke he had a divine echo to his voice, "I am pleased to see another member of the race that has long since passed from time. I see from your crown that you are a monarch of sorts somewhere else in the world. Why have you sought my council?"

"T-thou hast asketh of us to say why we hath sought thine council, yet we did not even know thou sleepest inside yonder gemstone."

"You seek in a tongue long since passed, yet you were speaking fine a few minutes ago. Though you did not know I was here, you called for me, young queen. You said you wished a master such as Lunar Wing had survived, so here I am."

"You must excuse our peculiar way of speaking, as it is normal for us. When we get nervous, we speak in a language no longer used. You startled us."

Lunar laughed, "It is fine, young child. We all act different when we are nervous. I myself find myself constantly casting spells when I get unnerved. What ails you, young queen?"

"I am not a queen; I am Princess Luna of Equestria. I have many problems at the moment, and many require the help of one much wiser than me."

Lunar seemed to recognize her name, as he got a thoughtful look when she introduced herself. He replied, "I am Lunar Wing, creator of all things celestial. I know much, I may be the wise one you seek. However, I must first ask how you got to Utopia, as it can only be found by those who know where it is, unless you flew all the way here from Equestria."

"I came here with another, who had been here many times before. We came searching for answers to solve a crisis, but I only have many more questions now. He is very wise, my personal advisor, and he always seems to know everything, or how to find it out if he doesn't. Unfortunately, he has fallen ill, and I have no idea what is wrong. That is but one of my problems, though he could help me solve the others if he were here."

"Your advisor has fallen ill in Utopia? There hasn't been another living creature here for five hundred years; there is nothing that would carry sickness here. That is very peculiar indeed. Did you say he was fine just before you noticed he was ill?"

"Yes, Silver Moon was fine one moment, then he was jerking and twitching, then he just fell unconscious."

"Wait, Silver Moon? The Alicorn Silver Moon? Does he look like me?"

"Yes he does. He said you taught him before The Fall."

"Oh yes, he was my star student. I don't think there was ever an Alicorn born with more raw potential than him. You said he had a seizure?" Lunar had a worried look on his face as he spoke, as though Luna had told him terrible news.

"Yes, it was quite sudden. I thought perhaps he strained himself too hard in our duel, but if that were the case I don't quite think he would have been your star pupil. Does this happen often? You seem worried."

"It is nothing, young princess. Silver Moon was the closest thing I have ever had to a child, and I am strangely overprotective of him, even though I know he is far more than capable of handling himself. It is a condition he has suffered from since a day when I made him use his powers to attempt to match my own. The effort was too much for the younger Silver, though I'm certain he could handle it now, and occasionally he has a seizure and passes out. He always come to a short while later and is perfectly fine." His words put Luna at ease, but something about his stance revealed he knew more than what he was letting on.

Luna released a sigh of relief that her best friend was going to be alright, and then said, "Well, I'm glad you know what is going on. I was worried sick for him."

"That is not much of a problem, though I'm sure your other problems are more serious."

"They are. A terrible unicorn calling himself Eclipse has risen up to conquer Equestria, and we have no idea how to stop him. That is why we came to Utopia in the first place."

"Why can't you and Silver stop him? Both of you are more than capable of dealing with any single unicorn. I fail to see why that is a problem."

"Eclipse isn't a normal unicorn. He became something else, something far more powerful."

Suddenly, a tenor voice rang out from the shadows behind her, "He became what is known to the Alicorns as a Nightmare, Luna. He is far more powerful than a normal Alicorn, but will be forever branded for what he is. Who are you talking to?" Silver Moon then stepped into the tower next to Luna, and beheld his former master.

"Silver Moon," Lunar said, "it has been a long time."

Silver Moon gazed upon his former teacher with shock. Luna had never seen anything make Silver freeze in surprise, but he just stood there with his mouth open. His eyes showed pure joy at his teacher's return, once the shock wore off. Then, of all the things that had happened to surprise Luna that day, this action shocked her more than everything else combined. Silver Moon, the perfect advisor, started crying.

"A very long time indeed, master." Silver said with a choked voice. "I knew you never wanted to be found, but you could have at least told me your hiding spot was so near. I would have found comfort knowing you were nearby."

"If you knew I was here in Utopia, you would have never left. Even though you are smart, powerful, and very capable of helping anyone in the world with their problems, you would have stayed here to keep me company. You were needed in Equestria, and so I let you find your own way there."

"Forgive me, master. I failed the princesses, despite all your training."

"Does this failure have something to do with that Nightmare you mentioned?"

"Yes, Celestia, Luna's sister, shunned me from a council meet. An army of pegasi then rested on Equestria's borders, waiting to strike. After running around for a month to get ready in case of an invasion, I was far too tired to fly all the way to the other side of the country, to sit in a council that didn't want me there. I ended up going, but I arrived late. The council member who owned the palace absorbed Celestia's powers using the forbidden ritual, and then fought me. In my exhausted state, I could not finish him, so I blew up his manor and flew away with Celestia. If only I had seen it sooner, I could have defeated him while he was still a unicorn. To make matters worse, I've forgotten the sacred healing ritual that counters the Nightmare Ritual."

Silver had thrown himself at Lunar's feet as he said this, like a beggar pleading to a monarch. Luna had never, ever seen Silver beg, or indeed even bow, to her or Celestia, and they actually were royalty. Silver obviously thought very highly of Lunar, and it compelled him to beg forgiveness for something that wasn't his fault. Lunar put his wing around Silver, comforting him; with an expression that made it quite obvious he shared Luna's thoughts.

"My Lord," Lunar said, "you have done nothing wrong that needs to be forgiven. Why, last I saw of you, you were battling the most powerful creature in the universe to save your people. Now, you are begging at my feet. Pick yourself up my liege, for it is wrong for you to act this way in front of other royalty."

Lunar was talking to Silver like he was a king, which was weird considering that Lunar himself was a god. Luna decided to voice her thoughts on this.

"My Lord Lunar, you speak to Silver like he is a king, but though he is very noble, he is but an advisor to the Princesses of Equestria. Neither he nor anyone in his family is royalty."

"You mean to tell me she doesn't know?" Lunar asked. Silver, who had picked himself up from the floor and regained his composure, nodded.


End file.
